Equipment for vertical coating



May 10, 1932. w. H. EDMONDSON 1,357,241

E UIPMENT FOR VERTICAL COATING Filed March 20, 1930 2 Sheets-Shee l q 7 596 William H.1Edmondson, l

B1, his aflormn May 10, 1932. w, EDMONDSON 1,857,241

EQUIPMENT FOR VERTICAL COATING Filed March 20, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

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Wi/lfam hifdmandson, InvaMor 5 his aHorna Patented May 10, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT'NOEFICE.

WILLIAM H. EDMONDSON, OF- NEWBURGH, NEW YOBKQASOIGNOB '20 E I. DU DE NEMOURS & COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE; A CORPORATION OI DELAWARE muirunn'r r03. van-Tron. comma Application filed Imn 20,1930. semi in. 437,375.

This invention relates to coating machines for sheet material and more particularly to an improved equipment for vertical coating.

The coating of sheet material as conven- 5 tionally practiced is effected while the material unwinding from the supply 'roll is moving in a horizontal. direction. 'In this method a transverse roll or scraper bar bears against the under side of the moving mate chamber or into a tenter frame where the film of the coatingcomposition is dried.

In this method of applying the coating composition it is to be noted that the sheet after passing under the spreader knife is moving in almost a horizontal direction and any lumps of hardened coating material, skins, or foreign matter which may go under the knife will ride along on the finished coat and there:

by mar the finished coated product. Heretofore when an attempt was made to obviate the above mentioned difficulties by coating the materialwhil'e moving in a vertical .directionit has been found that several difiiculties stand in the way the chief of which is the supporting of the coating composition. This is not so difiicult while the coating is in progress but is particularly embarrassing when the operation is stopped for a brief period because the coating composition spills out of the panand runs down the sheet material when the counteracting effect of the upward movement of the sheet material is removed. Loss of solvent resulting in skinsion of e uipment for vertical coating embodying etails of construction and a mode of operation that will obviate the difliculties and disadvantages mentioned above. A further object is equipmentfor vertical coating having adjustable means associated with certain elements of the equi ment to compensate for the weaving or si e to side movement fof the ,sheet material caused. by telescoped supply rolls. 'A still further object is equipment for vertical coatin embodying a wiper bar with novel adjusts. le features. Other objects will appear hereinafter; 7

These objects are accomplished by the following invention in which a ooatin head or stand is located before a standar drying apparatus, the equipment being arranged to coat that portion of the material moving ver-.

tieally and before the material enters the drying apparatus which is preferably arranged in'a horizontal position.

In the accompanying drawings in which an embodiment of the invention is illustrated:

Fig. 1 is aside elevation takenin the direction of the arrows 1-1 Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a view partly in section along the line 22'of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. is a front elevation with parts shown in section. F Fig. .4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5 is a section taken 'on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a view of one of the ,wiper blades taken from the line 77 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 8 is a view of another of the wiping blades taken from the line 88 of Fig. 2.

The numeral 1 designates the framework upon which the equipment is mounted. After the sheet material 3 has been coated on one side it is drawn through a drying appapart of the present invention, the drying apparatus is indicated diagrammatically by the numeral 2.

The supply of sheet material to be coated unwinds from a roll 4 on an axle 5 supported on the framework as shown in Fig. 1. The bale .or roll t is held by a brake or tension device (not, shown) to resist the pull applied to the sheet material sufficiently to kee it taut and control, to some extent, the weight of the coat spread. The sheet material 3 from the roll 4 after passing over the offset rolls 6 and 7 receives a coating of the material contained in the elongated pan or receptacle 8 and then passes under the spreader or doctor knife 9 (Fig. 2), over the wiper bar 10 into the tenter frame.

' In order that the sheet material 3 may be properly aligned before the drying chamber or before a tenter frame to be received by the gripping devices therein, the whole framework upon which the equipment is mounted is capable of adjustment in the direction of the width of the sheet material. This ad justment is effected by rotating the hand wheel 11 causing the worm. 12 to turn the worm wheel 13 (Fig. 3) rigid on the axle14 carrying the wheels 15 on the tracks 16. A similar set of tracks 17 are provided for the wheels 18 at the opposite end of the equipment. 9

The spreader or doctor knife 9 together with the pan 8 is carried by a supporting bar 19'extending across the equipment parallel to the sheet material and adjustably mounted on the framework 1 as will presently appear. A plate 20, wider than bar 19 extends throughout nearly the length of the bar and is adj-ustably attached to the lower face thereof by bolts 21 passing through slots in theplate and threaded into the bar 19. At each end of the plate 20, beyond the ends of the pan 8, a bracket or strap 22 is attached to the plate 20 and this bracket carries a bearing 23 for a pintle 24 on each end of the pan 8. The bearing 23 has aplate-like extension 25 held flush against the plate 20 by the enveloping bracket 22 and, at the end adj acent the end of the pan 8, may be provided with a flange 26. Each bracket 22 is attached to the plate 20 by means of a set screw 27 at one end as shown in Fig. 2 and by a set screw 28 at the other end which bears on the spreader knife 9 positioned in the looped end of the bracket 22. Several L shaped clamping pieces 30, each of which is held down by the nut on the stud 31 rising from the plate 20, may be used to clamp the spreader knife 9 against the plate 20.

Clamps 32 (Fig. 2) fit over and are held to bar 19 by set screws 33. A downwardly projecting arm 34 is pivoted to each of the clamps 32 at 35 and these arms are each provided with spaced stop lugs 36 and 37- In the operative position shown in Fig. 2 th rolled edge 38 of the pan 8 is engaged by the upper lug 36. In this position of the pan 8 thesup orting bar 19 and the parts carried there y are so positioned that the open end of thepan, indicated by the spaced points designated by the characters X and Y, is positioned adjacent the material 3. The tendency of the coating material within the pan 8 to run down the sheet material 3 is counteracted by the upward movement ofthe material. The coating composition used has almost the consistency of tar with somewhat lower viscosity and under the action of the upwardly moving sheet material is formed into a cylindrical roll which continuously revolves under the spreader knife. When the sheet 3 stops, however, the coating composition soon begins to flow downwardly. It is to be noted that the lower edge of the pan does not lie against the sheet 3, as some clearance is necessary, for the lint and foreign material which collects from the surface of the sheet material and tends to fill up this space.

The roller 7 and the parallel laterally spaced wiper bar 10' above may be designated as sheet positioning elements because the sheet material 3 between them isdirected so that the'assembly on the bar 19 can properly cooperate with the material to apply the coating in the manner desired. The sheet material 3 is constrained to move in a substantially'vertical directionby the knife 9 before the material passesover the scraperbar 10 and into the tenter frame 2.

The pan 8 hasa lipped or funnel portion 39 into which the coating material is continuously poured during the coating operation. When it is desired to stop the process or when the sheet material stops moving for any reason the arm 34 is swung about the pivot 35 and the rolled edge of the an is engaged by the lower stop lug'37. Vshen the pan is in this lower position (Fig. 3), the coating material does not run toward the open end of the pan but is directed away from the open end into the pan.

The pan 8 and spreader knife 9 is adjustable as a unit to and from the sheet material so that when these parts are adjusted toward the sheet material, the portion of the material above theknife will be directed substantially vertically and the portion below the knife will be directed over'the open end of the pan. This adjustment is effected by rotatably mounting the supporting bar 19v in brackets on the framework as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. Associated with the mechanism for rotating the bar 19 to swing the knife and pan to and from the plane of the sheet material 3, is a means for adjusting the bar 19 axially. The axial adjustment of the bar 19and the parts carried thereby is for the purpose of compensating for the weaving effeet or the side to side movement of the sheet an opening of like configuration in the end of the bushing 43. A worm 49 journaled in the bracket meshes with the worm wheel 46. When the worm wheel 46 is rotated by turning the handle 50 on the worm 49. it will be apparent that the rotary motion will be transmitted from the bushing 43 to the polygonal end 48 of the shaft 19 causing the scraper knife and pan assembly to move toward or away from the sheet material 3 as desired. The sliding fit of the polygonal end 48 of the bar 19 also permits axial adj ustment of the bar which is effected by turning the hand piece 51 on the shaft 52 at the other end of the bar 19. The shaft 52 is j ournaled in bushings 53 fixed in the side walls 54 forming a part of the bracket 44. The walls 54 together with the removable top 55 constitutes a housing within which the bushing.42 ma be reciprocated within the limits determined by the rack 56 on the bottom of the bushing 42 which meshes with the pinion 57 keyed to the shaft 52. A washer 58 prevents the end 40 of the shaft 49 from sliding out of the bushing 42.

The wiper bar 10, shown raised somewhat above the top of bar 19 in Fig. 3 for the sake of clearness has wipingelements of different configuration. The wiping elements 59, 59a are blades or knives, the wiping edges of the two blades 59 being straight as shown in Fig. 8 and the'wiping edges of the blades 59a are cambered at 59b as indicated in Fig. 7. The ca-mbered form of the top or wiping edges of the blades 59a prevent the formation of wrinkles in the sheet material before. passing into the tenter frame or drying chamher. The wiper bar is rotatably mounted so that the rounded surface formed by the wiping element 60 may be brought in contact with the sheet material when the scraping effect of the wiping knives 59,5911 is undesirable or is not needed to prevent smearing of any is pivoted at 71 on each bearing 66 and on the other end of the rod 70 is threaded a bushmg 72 rotatably mounted in an orifice of the bracket 71' between the flange 73 and washer 74 on the bushing. A hand wheel 75 is keyed to the bushing and when turned will slide the bearmg 66 perpendicular to'the axis of the wiper bar 10. The ends 63 and 65 of the wiper bar fit loosely in the bearings 66 so that each end of the bar may be separately adjusted without bindin bearing at the opposite en of the bar. When the bar 10 is properly adjusted it is held securely in place by tightening the bolts 69.

While it is more convenient to have the sheet material 3 considerably slanted while passing over the 0 en end of the pan between the knife an roll 7 as shown in Figa 2, it is possible for the parts to be arranged .so that the material between the knife and .roll 7 extends vertically or substantially so,

provided a backing is placed on theside of the sheet material opposite the coating knife edge to give the necessary pressure as is obtained by'wrapping the sheet material around the knife edge as shown in Fig. 2. The vertical portion of the sheet material above the knife could also slope over the knife somewhat but could not slope in the opposite di rection because the desired release of the foreign material from the coated surface by gravity would not take place. The best results, however, are obtained by arranging the parts as in Fig. 2 in which the paralle sheet positioning elements arespaced and in which the back ofthe sheet between said elements" is unsupp'orted'so that the desirable wrapping of the sheet material around the knife which forms the S10 ing and vertical portions of the sheet m-aterlal may be accomplished by adjustment of the knife and the. attached receptacle. toward the sheet material. Byreason of the fact that the back of the sheet is unsupported and therefore free to flex in trough form with a vertical portion above the knife, the adjustment referred to permits regulation of the tension of the sheet, its pressure against the knife and the variatlOIi of the space between the panand sheet at The vertical coating e uipment herein de-f scribed is especially use n1 for the application of pyroxylin or other nitrocellulose coat- 7 occuringin the 4 true before starting the operation. When the equipment isused, however, to produce other coated products not requiring the stretching action of a tenter frame and requiring nothing more than a dryin chamher, the weaving of the sheet material is of no consequence as far as the drying chamber is concerned. This slow side to side weaving of the sheet material does, however, affect the coating 0 ration because one ed e of 'the sheet will b: overlapping the end 0 the knife while the other edge 1s positioned between the ends of the knife. It is not economical to use perfectly wound rolls for the cheaper grades of products not requiring the use of a tenter frame. It is, however, possible by means of the present invention in which the coating composition and knife may be shifted from side to side, to apply coating to material un ing the coat smooth and perfect. When the coating is applied as in the usual method while the sheet material is moving horizontall or substantially so, the blobs which pass un er the knife ride along with the material and mar the coating. The blobs are reduced in number in horizontal coating by reducing the speed of the sheet material and since the blobs are a speed limiting feature of horizontal coating operations it will be apparent that the elimination of the blobs by means of the vertical coating method herein disclosed will increase the speed of the coating operation. If it is desirable or necessary to stop the coating operation the outer edge of the pan is sim ly dropped to the position determined by t e lower stop lug 37 and the disadvantage of the coating composition-running out of the pan down the material is obviated. The dropping of the pan facilitates cleaning as the composition is simply scraped outwardly eliminating the former practice of removing the coating composition through an orifice in the bottom of the pan. The pan 1' s capable of being quickly filled and the skinning of the applied coating because of solvent loss is minimlzed. The provision for setting the wiper bar to any position relative to the spreader coating knife (within a limited range) also results in an improvement of the quality of the coat. The simultaneous adjustment of the coating or spreader knife and the pan in proper relation to the material to be coated lends speed and efliciency to the coating process and quality to the product. The further ability to shift the coating knife and pan from side to side to enable the o erator to follow the similar movement of t e sheet material unwindfng from a telescoped roll and thereb insure the a plication of the coating over t e entire widt of the sheet at all portions thereof is also a valuable feature of the equipment.

' As .many apparent and widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the foregoing examples or description except as indlcated in the following claims.

1. Equipment for vertical coating comprising in combination, a support from which a continuous supply of sheet material is ada ted to be fed into said equipment, a sprea er knife positioned to maintain a portion of the sheet material in substantally vertical position, a receptacle arranged to deposit coating composition on the sheet material below said knife, and means for adjusting said receptable and knife relative to said equipment in the direction of the length of said knife.

2. Equipment for coating a continuously moving strip of sheet material having a rtion thereof positioned substantially vertlcal- 'ly, comprismg a transversely extending spreader knife positioned adjacent the vertical portion of said sheet material, a receptacle having an open end below said knife directed toward and positioned adjacent said sheet material when said receptacle is in operative position, means for adjusting saidreceptacle to direct the coating composition away from said open end and into said receptacle, and means for adjusting said receptacle relative to said equipment transversely of said sheet material.

3. Equipment for coating a moving strip of sheet material a portion of which is arranged to extend u' wardly in said equi ment, a supporting ar extending in the irection of the width of said sheet material, means for rotating said bar, means for adjusting said bar relative to said equipment back and forth in the direction of its len h,

.and a spreader knife attached to said ar, areceptacle carried by said bar having an open end beneath said knife, said bar when rotated in one direction causin the 0 en end of said receptacle to be positioned a jacent said sheet material and causing said knife to contact with and constrain a portion of the sheet material above said knife to extend substantially vertically.

4. Equipment for vertical coating comprising a spreader knife, and a wiper bar above said knife and positioned with respect thereto so that the sheet material to be coated passes over said bar and is directed substantially vertically betwen said knife and bar, said bar having a plurality of wiping elements of different configuration and means for selectively positioning said wiping elements in contact with the sheet material.

5. Equipment for vertical coating comprising a spreader knife, a wiper bar above said knife and positioned with respect thereto so that the sheet material to be coated passes over said bar and is directed substantially vertically between said knife and bar, and a cambered wiping element on said bar.

6. Equipment for vertical coating comprising a spreader knife, and a wiper bar above said knife and positioned with respect thereto so that the sheet material to be coated passes over said bar and is directed substantially vertically between said bar and knife, said bar having a plurality ofwiping elements thereon some of which are straight and some of which are cambered.

7. Equipment for vertical coatin com rising a spreader knife, and a wiper ar a ove said knife and positioned with respect thereto so that the sheet material to .be coated passes over said bar and is directed substantially vertically between said bar and knife, said bar having wiping means with a straight contacting surface arranged to contact with the vertically directed portion of the sheet material, said bar having also wiping means with a cambered contacting surface positioned to contact with the sheet material while moving horizantally over said bar.

8. Equipment for vertical coating comprising a pair of substantially parallel sheet positioning elements one of which is above and to one side of the other, a spreader knife extending substantially parallel to said elements and positioned to constrain sheet material, unsupported at the rear thereof between said elements and extending between said elements, into an upper substantially vertical portion and a lower rearwardly sloping portion, a receptacle rotatable about an axis parallel to said elements having an open end adapted to be positioned adjacent the said sloping portion of the sheet material, said knife bemg carried by said receptacle above the open end thereof.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM H. EDMONDSON. 

